Cessna Citation Mustang - Great view out the cockpit windows, very easy and fun to hand-fly, and unlike most planes with a G1000 cockpit, it actually looks like it belongs in this one. It instantly became my favorite business jet even if it’s also the slowest.
Carenado PC12 - Needs work but it suits my needs until the SWS one comes out.
DC Designs F-14 Tomcat - Very stable and easy to fly for something so fast and iconic, I wish I had bought it sooner.
Hype Performance Group hot air balloon - A unique and relaxing way to enjoy the scenery.
Cessna 414 - I haven’t spent as much time in this one recently with all the new arrivals, but it continues to be a solid favorite of mine.
My list hasn’t changed, I don’t seem to be a “flighty” as some other posters
I tend to stick with the same Aircraft for a long time. My vote is a considered vote after hours of fun and evaluation.
My list is unchanged from the last update:
Fsadnis Hurricane
Dave Garwoods Hawker Hunter
Bagolus Bush C172
Asobo C-208 with the improvement Mod
Top Mach Studios F-22
And I have only flown two of them in the last 3 months.
My favoured flying areas are;
Wales, South and North.
Austrian Alps
Scotland and Shetlands.
Cornwall and Scillies.
Thank you for keeping this excellent resource and updating constantly. My vote would to to keep both an all-time list like you already do, and an annual updated list.
Here’s my first contribution to the Top 5 Aircraft, in before SU11 strikes:
Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Mk.2 by P McDonell & Philippe Wallaert converted from FSX - it’s fun/challenging to tinker (both files and flying).
Junkers Ju52 - fun go to plane (with STOL capabilities) and I’m biased because I’ve made a livery for it.
FlyByWire A320NX - excellent freeware for airlinering.
Gee Bee R3 Special - for stunt flying/doing all the things I’m not supposed to do.
Milviz 310R - well-made aircraft.
Honourable mentions:
PMDG B737-800
PMDG DC-6
Discus-2C (premium) by Got Friends
Quest Kodiak 100 wheeled and floats
Supermarine Spitfire MK IXC
Britten Norman BN2 Islander
Cessna L-19 Bird Dog
Me too!! Totally different set of planes we fly but those are my most regularly visited areas. And Papua New Guinea. We should friend each other in the Sim
The Avro Arrow is number one for me because it’s a conversion I made from a FSX plane while waiting for a real dev to make a native CF-105. I’m respecting copyright by not posting it. It’s just fun playing around with aircraft files and also creating liveries, but that takes away from a lot of flying time.
This aircraft has historical importance in Canadian aviation history. Here’s a link to more info on the Avro Arrow: CF-105 Avro Arrow
I just found the Junkers recently, and it’s gorgeous… I really wanted to pick it up to be the aircraft of choice but I can’t avoid being put off for the lack of systems depth. I hope it can shine one of these days when the devs unlock it and someone does it justice
I did (but haven’t tried it yet either). That mod prompted me to ask here on the forums about what kind of access to the files was needed for the community to be able to make deeper changes, like you have in some reality expansion mods for default aircraft. Then I learned that these are locked behind encryption/drm and that there is no hope
Understandable, as it lacks systems depth. I just enjoy casually cruising around with it, doing vfr flights. Yes, I know it’s supposed to be an airliner and cargo plane…
Ant’s Airplanes Tiger Moth - absolutely love this plane. I loved it in the older sims and love it in the new. Full of features and character and a joy to fly. I love how Ant implemented the features from the old sim using the checklist in MSFS for the realistic startup where you have to open up the engine bay to prime it and also stand in front to pull the prop through. All the adjustable options are great too. Just a great plane and a great dev.
Big Radials Grumman Goose - Another plane that’s full of character, perfect for flights around the Pacific North West especially with all the float plane landing spots added by the brilliant Return to Misty Moorings sceneries. Only thing that’s a let down is the default sim’s water physics and handling which is on Asobo to fix. It’ll be interesting to see how the upcoming 40th anniversary Goose by inibuilds compares.
FlyingIron Hellcat - I love everything FlyingIron put out but I restricted myself to just one. Might be just because it’s the latest and greatest but I really like the Hellcat, it’s a big ugly brute but quite nice to fly and sounds great. I also really like the custom ground handling physics they embedded. I ain’t a pilot but the ground handling for this tail draggers feels the most realistic.
//42 Freedom Fox - I ain’t usually a fan of glass cockpits but I keep on coming back to the Freedom Fox, it’s just real fun to fly and try to land in inappropriate places. I’ve crashed this plane more than I’ve flown some other planes I own. Plus it comes with a lot of nice extras like some pretty decent bush strips.
BlackBox BN2 Islander - A bit of a toss up between this, the Kodiak and the Porter by Milviz as they all kinda fill a similar role. The Kodiak undoubtedly is technically the better product and I do fly it a fair bit but I find it to be a bit sterile and lacking character. The Porter I haven’t flown as much recently but when the steam cockpit is released I’ll probably be on that more, but it’s also quite a nice and well modelled plane. I dunno why exactly but I’m not really a fan of turboprops, give me an internal combustion engine any day, and for that reason I go with the Islander. Its not the best looking, nor the most feature packed but it does have a lot of character and is great to hand fly. I was tempted by the Trislander but figured that two engines was enough for me.
Think I posted a list here many months ago but can’t be bothered to go dig it up.
Found my old list:
1: Grumman Goose
2: //42 Freedom Fox
3: MilViz Porter
4: DC Designs Stearman
5: GotFriends Optica
Two the same, one biplane swapped out for another, the Porter is there, I guess when it was new and shiny plus the BN2 got a big update since, and the Optica which I do fly occasionally these days and still think is quite nice but it’s swapped out for a warbird.
Don’t worry about it - I can do it. Just for your info though, you know you can click your own name at the top of any post (or anyone else’s) and filter it to posts by that user in the topic?
It was interesting to see what changed or stayed the same! Thanks a lot for the thread by the way. I kinda ignored it for months after posting my first list but read back a couple months worth of posts and it’s a really interesting thread with a lot of good discussion. Love the league tables as well.
Hey @Baracus250 - thanks for these awesome charts! Here we go with my current top 5, after two years and more than 400 flight hours (first post here):
Just Flight - Piper Arrow III.
WHY? A beautifully captured GA classic, photo-realistic cockpit with “real” tear&wear. Perfect for short-medium cross-country flights
Flying Iron Simulations - P38L Lightning
WHY? I really love all three warbirds these brothers created so far, but as I have just 5 slots I picked the P38L. Monitoring and keeping old WWII engines happy in flight is fun. The engine dynamics are awesome. The sounds are just amazing.
Carenado - Beechcraft 18
WHY? Beautiful cockpit, for me simply one of the greatest old-timers, modernized with Garmin GPS and a funny auto-pilot. Great looks and sounds.
Carenado - Waco YMF-5
WHY? For me by far the most beautiful double-decker in the sim. Yes it’s a new and modern one, but its retro looks are very fine and balanced. Great sound, no GPS - take a map with you!
Got Friends - Discus 2c glider
WHY? Got Friends launched this zen-therapy-grandmaster incl. great wrinch features and aerodynamics long before Asobo officially started implementing gliders. This is just the pure joy of flying and extremely well modelled
